Carter Hayes rejects the younger sister-in-law and marries Shirley Hale, his virtuous wife who endured mistreatment. Others mock their fields and sows. The couple works diligently, digging channels, cultivating, raising pigs, expanding business. They fend off interference, survive hardships: rainstorms, suppressed prices. They lead the village to prosperity, prove wrong those who looked down on them, live a thriving life.